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Friday, August 15, 2014

DEVOTION: How Is Your Heart? ~ by Yvonne Ortega

2 Chronicles 16:9: “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

Do you worry about your finances or your children? Are you or family members sick with the flu or another illness? Do you feel stressed over your job? Has someone hurt you or disappointed you? Do you struggle with anger or unforgiveness?

Our heavenly Father promises “to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” I want to hang on to that promise. Don’t you?

I find comfort in this verse for a couple of reasons. First, the Bible tells us God keeps his eyes on us. Our Abba Daddy loves us and watches over us.

Secondly, he promises to strengthen us, but he places a condition on that promise. He will strengthen those “whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

What does it mean to be “fully committed to him”? Let me give you an example of what it doesn’t mean. An acquaintance turned his back on God when his wife died of cancer. He said his wife taught Sunday school and sang in the choir. He didn’t want anything to do with God because he let a good woman suffer with cancer.

He was a “fair weather Christian.” As long as the blessings flowed in his direction, he lived for God. When he lost his wife, he became bitter and fell into the devil’s trap of unforgiveness.

As a “fair weather Christian,” he forgot God’s only Son, Jesus, suffered and died on the cross for our sins and how many Christians have been imprisoned, tortured and killed for their faith.

On the other hand, a friend lost her husband when he was 36 years old. She continued to love God, trust him, and serve him. God strengthened her and blessed her with a wonderful second husband, a young widower.

We can’t get through life without trials and heartaches, and we all come with an expiration date. The proof of our faith comes when we hang on to God’s promises anyway and allow him to strengthen us.

Yvonne Ortega is a counselor, international bilingual speaker, trainer and eleven-year breast cancer survivor. She is the author of Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer (Revell) and a contributing author to The Embrace of a Father (Bethany House) and Transformed (Wine Press). She has also been published in several magazines online and hard copy.

2 comments:

When the storms of life assail us, God is the rock on which we stand, the one to whom we cling. I have no idea how people who do not believe in God can weather the storms of life. Thank you for reminding us that lives committed to God are the only way to go.